Secret Sister
by Kinkatia
Summary: Sesshoumaru, a curious cat demon, and the encounters between them.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: I started this more than a year ago, and I'm just now picking it back up. I've got a good amount already written, so when I hit the new stuff, you may notice a change in the style. For now, it's awkward and weird, but I'm lazy and don't want to rewrite. That said, please enjoy Secret Sister!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha. I do own my OCs. And my plots. Please don't steal those, I'm trying to maintain some degree of uniqueness here. This was written merely to practice my storytelling abilities and to entertain the lot of you reading it. **

* * *

Sesshoumaru paused in his nightly circuit of their camp, sniffing the air inquisitively. He had felt a presence nearby, the aura small, but strong. Slowly, he approached, prepared for the attack which would surely come from any demon fool enough to remain so near.

But no attack came. Instead, a sniffling noise reached his ears, along with the strong scents of salt and blood. The demon, which he now knew to be a cat, was injured.

However, even injured demons can pose a threat, and he would not allow even the slightest chance that Rin and Jaken would fall victim to it.

Silently, he crept forward, closing the space between himself and his prey. What met his eyes was a young girl crouching in some shrubbery, her dark, curly hair falling about her in tangles. She was clearly in pain, tears running down her face as she clumsily tried to bandage the gashes on her upper right arm. Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed; those wounds had come from claws; some other demon had injured her.

Just then, she sensed his presence and started, trying unsuccessfully to back further into the undergrowth. Her wide, emerald eyes never left him, plainly showing her fear. "Go away," she hissed threateningly, arching her back in the manner of a frightened feline. "I've done nothing to you!"

Sesshoumaru merely glanced upwards, saying, "I would not stoop so low as to harm one who is injured."

Immediately, the fright left the young demoness, to be replaced by incredulity. "You're not going to attack me, nya?" she asked. "Everyone I've come across so far has."

"What need have I to attack you?"

"Because of this." She reached into the folds of her sleeveless top, her pain momentarily forgotten, and produced a tiny, glistening jewel. "I found it. I don't know what it is, but everyone seems to want it."

Sesshoumaru could hardly believe it. She possessed a shard of the Shikon no Tama and did not even know of the power it held.

"I don't know what to do with it. I mean, I really don't want it, but it must be important if everyone wants it from me, nya?"

"There is a miko with the power to purify it. You should give it to her," he told her. In the hands of a weak demon such as she, the shard would surely fall into Naraku's possession, and that was something he wanted to prevent.

"Really? Nya, do you know her name? That way I can make sure I find the right priestess. Three of them have tried to kill me already, and I really don't want that to happen again." Her voice was almost cheerful as she spoke, startling Sesshoumaru. How could one be happy when discussing such a thing?

But she had a point. Sesshoumaru, of course, knew the wench's name, as his wretched half-brother made a point of shouting it to the world whenever she was in danger. Sighing inwardly, he decided to tell the girl. It would, after all, be to his advantage for the shard to land somewhere out of Naraku's reach. "She is called Kagome."

"Kagome," she repeated happily. "Arigatou!" And without another word, she tucked the jewel back into her shirt and resumed her attempt at bandaging her arm with only one hand.

Sesshoumaru watched her struggling for a moment before concluding that she was getting nowhere fast. Without even realizing what he was doing, he bent down to help her, and in no time at all, it was finished, the bandage knotted firmly.

And then he was gone, leaving a very confused cat demon blinking at the place where he had been standing.

ﻫ

The soft light of dawn was just beginning to permeate the night. Birds nested safely in the treetops were stirring, greeting the day, but not yet breaking the silence. The stillness of the world during the transition from night to day was a peaceful one, filled with the promise of hope.

Amid the wakening world, one creature alone was wide awake, moving with a purpose. Creeping forward on all fours, gray-tipped black tail swishing lazily behind, she approached the small camp, the remnants of the fire's smoky aroma still hanging on the damp air.

Pausing, she observed the occupants of the clearing. There was a twin-headed dragon slumbering nearby, and against it rested a small human girl and what appeared to be a green imp. Across from them was the demon in white that had been so kind to her. No one appeared to be awake.

With this assessment made, she crept forward to the still-warm coals, dropping the small rabbit she had been carrying next to them before turning and leaving as silently as she had come.

Sesshoumaru watched her, his eyes barely open. He did not know why the cat demon was leaving such a gift, but it did not concern him too much. The rabbit would make a good meal for Rin and Jaken, as it was not often they were able to acquire such nutritious sustenance. His ward would be pleased when she awoke.

ﻫ

Kagome stretched and smiled at the clear morning sky. She could tell that it would be a wonderful day. Weather-wise, of course. InuYasha would probably still be grumpy about letting a demon with a jewel shard get away the day before.

Speaking of jewel shards…she could sense one approaching them rather quickly. "Hey, guys, there's a shard heading our way," she informed her comrades.

Immediately, they were all on the alert. "Do you think it's the same one as yesterday?" Miroku asked.

Kagome shook her head. "I can't tell. It might be."

Just then, a young demon girl with long, curly black hair, wearing a deep blue sleeveless top patterned with yellow stars, and grey, hakama style pants, stepped out from the trees, and froze.

InuYasha glared angrily at her, putting his hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt. "It's you again," he growled. "Come back for more?"

Kagome sighed. There he was, jumping to conclusions again. "InuYasha, wait," she started, before he interrupted her.

"Stay back, Kagome, I'll handle this."

The strange demon's face brightened. "You're the miko named Kagome?" she asked hopefully.

Kagome nodded, confused. Yesterday, this demon had been a hissing fury, and now she was acting…friendly.

"Yatta! I've been looking everywhere for you! Onii-san told me that I should give this to you." She pulled out the sacred jewel shard, and held it out cheerily. "I don't really know what it is, but it seemed important, and Onii-san told me when I showed it to him that I should give it to you, and so I came looking for you. Nya, but every time I asked someone if they knew where I could find you, they either ran away or threw things at me or tried to take this away from me and so, here!" She bounded over lightly, and dropped it happily into Kagome's hand, amid the disbelieving stares she was receiving from everyone present.

"Well, thanks," Kagome said uncertainly. It wasn't every day a demon just came up to her and handed over a Shikon shard.

"Your _brother_ told you to give this to us?" InuYasha asked speculatively.

"Nya, he's not my real brother, since I just met him yesterday. But he was real nice to me, after you hurt me, and helped me to bandage up my arm, see?" She pointed to the bandage on her upper right arm.

"Say, what's your name?" Sango asked.

The demon shrugged. "I don't have one," she declared, smiling broadly. "Or, at least not one that I can remember."

"You don't have a name?" Shippo piped up. "That's weird."

"Is it? Nya, I should go let Onii-san know I gave that to you! Ja ne!" An instant later, she had bounded off, tail swishing merrily behind her.

"That was rather strange," Miroku remarked.

"You can say that again," Kagome replied.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: Uploading the next bit sooner than I'd intended. I just really want to get past the cutesy stuff that was fun to write at the time to the actual plot, which is fun to write now. So, enjoy the cute and know that the story does get better in a little bit. Really. **

**Disclaimer: This was written for entertainment purposes and no copyright infringement was intended. Also, that song is not mine. Too tired to look up the artist, but it's a bit of the (supposed) English translation of the bit of "Konoyo no Uta." The part from Black Cat, actually, if any of you know it. **

* * *

Sesshoumaru was making his way back to where he'd left Rin and Jaken with Ah-Un after confronting the lone wolf demon that had been trailing them for the better part of the day. It was then that he heard it; a strange, unfamiliar melody floating to him on the breeze. He paused a moment, considering, before altering his course in its direction. Soon enough, the words to the song became clear.

_"Let the sound of the world…"_

The tune was a slow one, each syllable clear and held out.

_"…travel forever..."_

The sound of it was peaceful, and almost calming.

_"…looking up to the sky…"_

And the voice singing it was vaguely familiar.

_"…the sound of people talking…"_

He came to a halt behind some close-growing trees, peering into the clearing beyond.

_"…insects jumping…"_

From here, he had a clear view of the singer.

_"…light and bouncy…"_

He couldn't tell whether he felt annoyed or relieved.

_"…taking my hopes with it." _

Because sitting on the ground not three feet from him was the cat demon he had encountered the evening before.

She ceased her singing suddenly, crouching low to the ground. Slowly, she crept forward on all fours, every muscle tense and ready to spring into action. She appeared to be stalking something, though Sesshoumaru didn't know what. There was nothing there.

Her tail swished, and she sprang gracefully into the air, batting playfully at something yellow fluttering past her head; a small, fragile butterfly. Sesshoumaru watched, amused, as she continued to chase the insect, all her attention focused on the one goal of catching it. Unfortunately, so intent was she on her hunt, she tripped over a protruding tree root while landing after a jump, tumbling headlong through the wild flowers before coming to a stop sprawled flat on her back. The butterfly, as if teasing her, landed on a flower above her head, and as she tilted her face back to look at it, she caught sight of Sesshoumaru standing among the trees. A grin instantly plastered itself across her features.

"Onii-san!" she exclaimed, rolling over and sitting up. "I was looking for you!"

Seeing no reason to remain among the trees, now that she had discovered him, he stepped out into the open, wondering why he did not just leave.

"I found that miko you told me to give that jewel to!" she announced happily. "And you know what? The guy who hurt my arm was with her." That had to be InuYasha; he would be foolish enough to attack someone who was not hostile. "He seemed real mad about seeing me again, nya, but Kagome-san was real nice. But then the people who were with her started asking me a lot of questions, and I didn't really feel like answering questions, so I decided I ought to come and let you know that I did like you said and gave that funny jewel to Kagome-san, nya!"

Sesshoumaru nodded, acknowledging what she'd said, but gave no reply. This demon girl was intriguing. She was so vastly different than other demons in personality, and nothing at all seemed to bother her. Her cheerfulness reminded him of Rin.

Finally deciding to break the silence between them, he asked, "What is your name?"

A thoughtful look overcame her features for a moment. "One of Kagome-san's friends asked me that, too. So I'll tell you what I told them! I don't have a name, or at least not one that I can remember."

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

She cocked her head to the side, her emerald eyes thoughtful. "I can't remember anything at all before about…nya…eight moons ago. I just kinda woke up and didn't know who I was, or where I was, or how I got there or anything. But I don't really mind! I just decided to go and find new things to remember!"

He considered this. What could have caused her to experience such a massive memory loss? As he was lost in his thoughts, the breeze picked up, rustling the leaves of the trees.

And once again, the girl in front of him tensed. The sudden change in her aura, as she became focused, brought him out of his silent musings, and he watched her warily. He followed her gaze, discovering with some disdain that she was staring intently at his left sleeve, which was fluttering in the breeze, being, for the most part, empty.

Slowly, she crept forward, as if she had forgotten all but his sleeve. When she was only a few paces away, she tentatively reached out and poked it, watching as it moved. Her eyes lit up, and she poked at it again.

He could not believe it. She was _playing _with his sleeve. For a moment or two, he could only watch, dumbfounded, as she joyfully batted at it. It was simply shocking that she was acting so…so…_cat_-like. But, come to think of it, she was a cat demon, after all. Perhaps this odd behavior was in all reality…normal.

Irritated, Sesshoumaru decided that he would spend no more time in her presence. Without a word of parting, he turned and began walking away.

"Nya, Onii-san, where are you going?" she asked, blinking at him in surprise.

"It is none of your concern," he answered, vanishing into the trees.

ﻫ

Rin was pestering Jaken when it happened. The world outside their circle of firelight was shrouded in darkness and fear. But they were safe within its boundaries. And Rin was bored. Sesshoumaru smiled inwardly as he watched the two of them; Jaken was quickly getting annoyed with the girl's attempts to lure him into a game, but Rin continued undeterred.

And that's when it happened.

There was a rustling in the underbrush just outside the reach of the flickering firelight. Everyone froze, senses alert. Even Sesshoumaru was on edge, as he had not sensed any approach. And then…

A ball, no bigger than a child's fist, rolled out of the shadows and up to Rin. It was clearly old and much-used, but in decent condition nonetheless. It slowed to a halt within the girl's reach, and she looked from it to Sesshoumaru uncertainly.

The wind shifted slightly, and a familiar scent reached him; the cat demon. She had apparently left them another gift. He nodded to Rin, and she happily picked up the ball, glad to have something other than a grumpy old imp to entertain her.

Sesshoumaru stood, and made his way to where the demon girl had been hidden. As he disappeared into the familiar darkness of the night, she was nowhere to be found. There was not a trace of her, as if she had simply…vanished.

ﻫ

Shippo sighed, staring at the dancing flames of the fire. Kagome and InuYasha were arguing again, but at least this time, they were being quieter about it. Sango and Miroku were off on their own, talking about something that was probably either boring or unimportant. Either way, the little kitsune didn't care. He was just bored.

With a lack of anything better to do, he brought out one of his tops and spun it in the dirt, contemplating using his fox magic to enlarge it and drop it on InuYasha's head.

"Nya, what's that?"

Shippo jumped in fright at the sound of a voice behind him. He turned around warily, only to relax when he saw the cat demon from before, the one who had given Kagome a jewel shard.

"It's my top. I'm gonna drop it on InuYasha's head," he replied.

"That's not very nice!" she exclaimed in a whisper.

"So? InuYasha's not nice to me," Shippo retorted. "Besides, it would be funny."

"You know what would be really funny? If you snuck up behind him and poked him in the back! I bet it would scare him!"

Shippo looked from her to InuYasha's back, and then back to her again, his expression clearly stating she was crazy. "But InuYasha would know I was there, and then he'd probably hit me for sneaking up on him."

"Then I'll do it!" Without giving him a chance to respond, she crept silently past him on all fours, crouched low to the ground as a cat stalking its prey. He watched her, tense, waiting for InuYasha to turn around and start yelling.

But, it never happened. She stopped directly behind him, and, grinning broadly, poked the hanyou in the back.

InuYasha jumped nearly three feet in the air, whirling around. His eyes landed on the laughing cat demon, and he growled angrily. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Kagome, without a second's hesitation, said, "InuYasha, sit." Immediately, he did a face plant in the dirt. At this point, Shippo came out of his shock and started laughing uncontrollably.

"You'd better run before he gets up!" he said, gasping for breath as tears flooded from his eyes. Seeing InuYasha scared so easily was a rare treat, and he was thoroughly enjoying it.

Still laughing, the cat demon stood up and turned toward the tree line. "Ja!" she called over her shoulder, disappearing into the shadows.

InuYasha wrestled himself from the ground, glaring angrily at Shippo. "Watch it, runt," he growled, dusting himself off.

"Oh, be nice, InuYasha. He didn't do anything. But I wonder why she wanted to scare you," Kagome mused.

InuYasha sat back down beside her. "What I want to know is why I didn't pick up her scent or hear her coming."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Oops, I forgot about this. Rereading, there are a lot of ways this could be better, but I don't have time to rewrite, and am presenting it as is. Please enjoy. **

Chapter Three

Throughout the day, Sesshoumaru's thoughts continually drifted to the strange cat demon. Try as he might, he couldn't get her out of his mind. If what she said was true, then something had happened to cause her to have no recollection of her past. Though she seemed innocent enough, not to mention oblivious to the warring that had engulfed the lands, it was possible that she had wronged someone, and they would not hesitate to harm her if they chanced upon her. His feelings about that possibility puzzled him; he hardly knew the girl, but he did not want any harm to befall her.

But then again, she had a knack for disappearing. If she were to get into trouble, surely she would be able to get away. She had certainly proved that by carrying a Shikon shard and only ending up with a few scratches.

He was distracted from his thoughts by Rin's exclamation from atop Ah-Un; "Look, Master Jaken! There's a river up ahead!"

Sure enough, the sound of rushing water filled the air, and the evening sunlight glinted off it in a most beauteous way. It had been quite some time since they had last camped near a river, and Sesshoumaru was surprised to realize he had missed hearing the river's song during the night. He was determined to find a suitable place for them to camp along the bank.

They traveled upstream for some time before a splashing sound met their ears. As they rounded a bend in the course of the river, the trees ahead gave way to reveal a figure hunched at the water's edge, staring intently into the river's depths. The figure tensed suddenly. and one clawed hand darted into the water, scooping a fish onto the bank, where it landed atop two others.

Jaken unthinkingly rushed forward, brandishing his staff and demanding to know the demon's identity. The demon's head jerked up, as if just noticing the presence of others, and emerald eyes looked past the imp to alight on Sesshoumaru.

"Onii-san!"

Sesshoumaru closed his eyes to hide his agitation. He had not expected to meet the cat demon again. With an inward sigh, he opened his eyes again and watched silently as Jaken berated her. "Insolent feline! How dare you show such disrespect to Sesshomaru-sama!"

She blinked and tilted her head to the side. "I'm sorry." Her eyes flicked back to Sesshomaru. "Nya, Onii-sama? Do you want me to catch some fish for you guys?"

Ignoring Jaken's grumblings about disrespect, he nodded. The river was much too deep and swift for Rin to be wading in. "Rin, Jaken, we will be camping here tonight."

His ward slipped off the dragon's back and trotted off toward the trees. "Let's go and get some firewood, Master Jaken!" she called over her shoulder. Grudgingly, the imp followed after her.

Later that night, the small group, with the addition of the cat demon, sat around a blazing fire. Sesshoumaru watched the demon girl interact with Rin, secretly pleased; his ward had already taken to her.

"Ne, Neko-chan, can I ask you a question?" Rin asked, rolling the ball to her.

She nodded and batted the ball back, tail swishing merrily. "I'll try to answer it if I can," she replied. "But I don't know much about anything, nya."

Rin laughed as she rolled the ball again. "I think you'll know the answer. How did you meet Sesshoumaru-sama?"

She pounced on the ball and stared at it thoughtfully for a moment. "I was hurt, and he came and helped me," she answered simply.

Rin smiled. "Sesshoumaru-sama helped me, too."

Not long after, everyone began to settle in for the night. Rin and Jaken laid down beside Ah-Un, while the cat demon curled up next to the fire, purring contentedly. Sesshoumaru sat against a tree across the fire from her, lost in his thoughts.

ﻫ

"What do you look so worried about?" InuYasha asked gruffly, dropping to the ground beside Kagome. The rest of their group was asleep, their still forms settled around the dying embers of the fire.

Kagome sighed heavily, turning the bottle that contained the jewel shards over and over in her hand. "I'm worried about that cat demon," she answered truthfully.

"You mean that weird one that gave us a shard? Keh, she can take care of herself."

She shook her head. "She just seemed so innocent and trusting, almost like a child. And what she said about not knowing her own name bothers me."

InuYasha turned his head and looked at her quizzically. "Why? Just because she doesn't know her name doesn't mean she's going to get into trouble," he reasoned.

Kagome sighed again and turned her eyes to the stars twinkling in the sky above them. "I just can't help but think: If she doesn't remember her name, what else doesn't she remember?"

"Look, Kagome, you're worrying too much. Even if she's lost her memory or something, she's got this so-called 'big brother' to look out for her. And since he told her to give you the jewel shard, he's obviously not our enemy."

Kagome smiled at him. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks, InuYasha."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

There were humans in the area. He had thought that they were far enough from the village to avoid unwanted visitors to their camp. Apparently, these humans had no qualms about wandering away from the relative safety of their homes. They were following the river, the breeze bringing their scent to him.

If he were on his own, he would not have spared them a second thought. If they chanced upon him, he would pay them no mind unless they bothered him. But lately, he had had more than one issue with humans trying to take Rin away. If the girl wanted to go with them, he would let her go, even if the thought did bother him a bit. But she clearly wanted to remain under his protection, and he would not let her be forced into anything.

It was still early, and he was the only one in their camp awake. He did not wish to wake Rin, but he would have to if the humans got too close. However, they were still a fair distance away; his ward could sleep a bit longer.

Unfortunately, the humans continued to draw closer. Reluctantly, he made the decision to break camp and move on. Standing up, he walked over to Jaken and kicked him awake.

"Eh? Milord? Is something the matter?" the imp asked, rubbing the lump on his head tenderly.

"Jaken, wake Rin. We are leaving," he instructed.

As Jaken did as he was told and suffered another knock on the head from Rin when she sat up suddenly, the cat demon woke up. She stretched her back luxuriously and blinked at him with sleepy green eyes. "Ohayo, Onii-sama," she yawned. She looked around slowly, black curls falling over her shoulders in a disheveled mess. Sesshomaru noted that the bandage he had helped her tie onto her arm was still there, the ends poking out through her hair. He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully; the girl was a full demon, so minor wounds such as those should have already healed.

She tilted her head to the side suddenly, staring off upriver. "Nya, I think I'll go this way today. It seems sort of…kind of…almost…familiar."

Rin, stifling a yawn, asked blearily, "Ne, Neko-chan, you're not coming with us?"

She shook her head and stood up. "Iie, Rin-chan. I think I almost remember something, and I want to find out what it is."

Yawning, Rin mumbled a sleepy, "Okay," and climbed onto Ah-Un's back, where she promptly fell back asleep, stretched out on her stomach across the saddle.

The cat demon began to wander off upriver. Sesshoumaru wondered if he should warn her that there were humans in that direction, but thought better of it. It wasn't his place to look after every stray demon that crossed paths with him, and he was sure she could take care of herself. She would smell them long before they knew she was there.

Silently, he led the way in the opposite direction, cutting off into the forest.

ﻫ

"If I remember correctly, there's a prosperous village in this direction," Miroku remarked as the gang walked along the river's edge. "Perhaps we could spare the time to pass through and stop for lunch."

Shippo, perched upon his shoulder, looked over at Kagome pleadingly. "Could we, Kagome? Please?"

She smiled back at him. "That sounds great!"

"No way are we going anywhere near that village," InuYasha interrupted, ears twitching.

"What? But why?" Shippo and Kagome asked in unison.

He glared at them before explaining, "I've been this way before, and that particular village doesn't take to demons very well."

Kirara mewed in sympathy, and Kagome sighed. "Alright, then. We'll just have to stop at the next village."

Just then, InuYasha stopped in his tracks, eyes narrowing. "What the hell is _he_ doing this close to a human village?" he hissed angrily, putting his hand on Tetsusaiga's hilt.

"Who is it?" Sango asked, readying her hiraikotsu should she have to use it.

Before he could answer, the person in question emerged from the trees ahead, observing them carefully. "It's Sesshoumaru!" Kagome exclaimed in surprise.

ﻫ

Sesshoumaru nearly groaned aloud. After leaving Rin and Jaken in a safe place, he had returned to the river, because of a nagging feeling that something would happen to the cat demon. He had tried to ignore it, but to no avail. And now, thanks to his decision to investigate, he had run into his brother and his friends. It just wasn't his day.

"What are you doing here, Sesshoumaru?" InuYasha demanded.

He nearly rolled his eyes; when would the fool learn that he was never going to get a straight answer from him? "It is none of your concern," he answered simply. He started to turn away when movement nearby startled him. Something was hurtling through the underbrush.

Before he could pick up a scent, a small black cat darted out into the open halfway between himself and his brother's pack. It was limping badly, blood dripping down its side. It slowed as it saw the river, and turned frantically in his direction, flashing green eyes locking onto him. Instantly, it began running in his direction, a bright glow surrounding it. When the light dispersed, he was surprised to see the cat demon in its place, a deep gash in her side and tears streaming down her face.

"Onii-sama!" she cried out, just as a group of human men bearing katanas and bows stumbled into the open. One of them, clearly their leader, pointed at her as she ducked behind Sesshoumaru.

"There she is! And another demon's with her!" he shouted angrily. The entire group charged at them. Another human, this time a woman, emerged.

"Stop, please! Don't hurt her!" she cried out to the men, only to be ignored. "She did nothing wrong!"

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes angrily. It was humans such as these that he despised more than any. He raised his hand and summoned his light whip, cracking it in front of the group of humans, halting their advance. "You dare to attack this Sesshoumaru?" he asked, tone venomous.

From behind him, the cat demon begged, voice weak, "Please, don't hurt them Onii-sama."

Immediately, they began to shy away. It took but another threatening crack of his whip to send them all scurrying back the way they had come, taking the woman with them, despite her protests. He growled angrily; he would have liked to kill the scum.

InuYasha, who had somehow managed to remain unnoticed and uninvolved during the momentary dispute, glared at him suspiciously. "_You__'__re_ the one she calls her brother?" he asked incredulously.

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Hn."

The miko called Kagome rushed forward. "She's hurt!" she exclaimed. He stepped aside to allow her to see to the cat demon. In doing so, he was afforded a clearer view of her injury, and narrowed his eyes in disgust. One of the wretched humans had landed a blow to her side with a katana; the wound was potentially deadly if not tended to.

As Kagome got close, the cat demon inched backward and hissed fearfully at her, ready to bolt. The miko stopped in her tracks and looked helplessly from her to Sesshoumaru and back again.

"Sesshoumaru, do you think you could get her to let me help?" she asked warily. "She seems to trust you."

As much as he hated it, he could not simply refuse to help and walk away. He did not want the girl to die; she reminded him much too much of Rin for his conscience to allow that. With a deep inward sigh, he stepped to her side and knelt beside her. She was trembling with fear and pain, and her breaths were coming in quick, short gasps.

"Onii-sama," she whispered weakly. "I'm scared."

"Let the miko see to your wound," he instructed gently. "She will not hurt you."

She hesitated a moment before nodding. He stood and backed away, turning his attention to his younger brother, who was approaching him with a suspicious glare.

"You told her to give that jewel shard to Kagome?" he asked, a note of accusation in his tone.

Seeing no need to evade the question, he answered, "Yes."

This seemed to dumbfound InuYasha, who was not accustomed to getting the answers he wanted from him.

"Sango, can you help me?" Kagome called, and the demon slayer immediately trotted to her side and set down her hiraikotsu. The monk followed at a more leisurely pace, kitsune perched on his shoulder.

"Is she gonna be alright, Miroku?" Shippo asked worriedly.

"I'm sure Sango and Lady Kagome will be able to patch her up," Miroku responded calmly.

InuYasha got his attention again by demanding, "You gonna tell us what's going on, Sesshoumaru?"

Feeling rather unsettled by his concern for the cat demon, he hardly noticed when he replied, "I merely stumbled upon her after you injured her, InuYasha, and she has been following me since."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Sesshoumaru stared pensively at the river, hiding his irritation from those around him. He had meant to leave the cat demon in the miko's care and return to Rin and Jaken, but the moment he had begun to leave, she had panicked and tried to follow him. He had almost ignored her and continued on his way, but had stopped when he realized that she was determined to follow him all the way back. He didn't think he could bear Rin's reaction to seeing her new friend hurt, and knew his ward would insist that they seek aid for her.

In the end, he had no choice. He reassured her that he would return shortly and brought his ward and retainer back with him. Jaken had nearly had a spasm, but Rin was only concerned for her friend. The girl had fretted nearby until the miko had finished treating the wound and the demon had fallen into a fevered sleep.

He remembered Rin's tears and knew that he had done the right thing, as much as it irked him to have to share a camp with InuYasha and his human friends. He had reached the most desirable outcome, and that was all that mattered, especially since Rin was involved.

He glanced to the side at the sound of someone stirring among the silent camp. The cat demon had awoken, and was attempting to rise. He watched silently as she winced, tears sliding down her pallid face, and tried again. He frowned to himself. She would hinder the healing of her wound if she kept that up.

Sighing inwardly, he stood from his place and crossed the camp swiftly. He felt eyes on him and knew that his younger brother was awake, not trusting him enough to sleep. Hating that InuYasha was going to see what he was doing, he lowered himself to the ground next to the cat demon. "Be still," he told her quietly.

She looked up at him with pain-filled eyes. "Onii-sama," she whispered through her tears. "I don't understand why." He remained silent, waiting for her to continue. "I remembered that woman. It's only a little, but I remembered being happy when I saw her. And she looked so happy to see me. So why... why did the others attack me? I don't have that jewel anymore, so why? I don't... I don't understand."

Sesshoumaru said nothing. He had no answer for her. He assumed he had been right when he had suspected she may have made enemies that she could not remember.

"You're a demon." Sesshoumaru looked across the fire to see InuYasha sitting up and looking at the girl sadly. "That village... they don't like demons very much. I was there once, a long time ago, and they didn't even think of running from me. They just wanted to kill me. Some humans are just like that, and there's nothing we can really do about it."

"So it's... it's not my fault? I didn't do anything to make them hate me?" she asked in a small voice.

InuYasha tried to smile, to reassure her. "Probably not."

She smiled despite her tears. "I'm glad," she whispered, lowering herself back to the ground. "I don't want to make anyone hate me..." As she drifted back into slumber, two pairs of golden eyes watched her, one filled with sadness, the other unreadable.

After sitting a while in silence, InuYasha fixed his gaze on his brother. "I don't get you," he stated flatly, crossing his arms over his chest and huffing in annoyance. "Why would you let an annoying girl like her follow you around and call you her brother?"

Sesshoumaru did not grace him with an answer, instead getting up and returning to his place by the river. Staring into the flowing waters intently, he realized that he did not know why.

ﮬ

The following morning found the nameless cat demon wide awake, tossing pebbles at Jaken's head, much to the amusement of both Rin and Shippo. Jaken was running in circles trying to escape the bombardment, but her accuracy was impeccable, and each stone found its mark. The others in the camp, just waking up, were largely ignoring the spectacle, much to the poor imp's frustration. "Ow! Ow! Stop it!" he ordered, but to no avail.

Luckily for him, her strength soon ran out, and she dozed off again in the morning sun, waking only when Kagome went to see to her wound. Sesshoumaru watched as the miko changed the blood-soaked bandages, a slight frown marring his brow as he remembered the extended amount of time she had worn the bandage on her arm.

His suspicions were confirmed when Kagome approached him. She was timid, but resolved, as she told him what was on her mind. "Her wound is healing slowly. Like a human's would. But she's a full-blooded demon. Even I can sense that much. It's strange, and she's going to have to stay put for a while, a few days at least. Moving around will only make the wound take longer to heal and risk infection, and with her rate of healing as it is, she might not survive an infection."

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Yet it is dangerous to remain so near the village."

"Yeah." The priestess seemed at a loss as to what should be done. "I don't think anyone would try attacking again with you around, but from what InuYasha told me, the people in that village are pretty determined to keep demons away. They might do something stupid. And I know you don't usually stay in one place for very long..." She trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with being caught between her concern for the girl and her wariness of him.

"I have reason to believe she has enemies in that village. They are likely to be persistent," Sesshoumaru said.

"Then we'll have to get her away as soon as possible," Kagome sighed. "She needs to stay, at least for today though. Maybe rest will improve her healing." She shook her head slowly, clearly worried. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like when we're around, but I'm staying to watch her for now. Just today, I promise." He nodded, acknowledging her words silently, and watched as she turned around and returned to her own companions, who had been watching him warily. Foolish humans, he though, did they not know he would not attack them unprovoked?

"Um, Sesshoumaru-sama?" He turned his attention to Rin, who had crept up to him while he was speaking with the priestess.

"What is it, Rin?"

She fidgeted a moment before answering. "Sango-san said that she and Kagome-san are going to go and gather some medicinal herbs for Neko-chan, and asked if I wanted to go with them." She turned hopeful eyes up at him. "May I, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

He nodded consent, and she jumped up and down happily. "Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama!" He watched, mildly amused as she raced over to the women and told them that she would go with them.

"Keh, if you're not careful, she'll be wanting to stay with us instead."

Sesshoumaru resisted the impulse to strike out at the annoying half-breed. Could he not get a moment's peace?

"Rin may do as she pleases," he responded calmly, then turned around and walked to the river's edge, pointedly ignoring the rest of the camp.

The villagers were growing bold again. The sun was just starting its descent toward the horizon, and already they were on their way towards the camp. He couldn't say he blamed them, though. The scent of the cat demon's blood was attracting other weaker demons in the area, ones clever and cunning to be able to survive so close to a demon-hunting village. Their activity was bound to make the humans nervous.

It had forced him to make a decision. Tenseiga had been urging him on all day, beginning at the time the girl had descended into fever. But still, he had hesitated. But now, with his brother's pack occupied chasing off a few minor demons and fretting about the approaching villagers, he could hesitate no longer. Drawing his father's fang, he approached cat demon.

She was sleeping fitfully, the fever likely causing bad dreams. She was still too pale, still too weak, and very, very afraid. Though he hadn't much experience healing with Tenseiga, he knew it had the power. He only hoped he would be successful.

Tightening his grip on the sword, he narrowed his eyes and let the vision of the otherworld envelop him. The imps of death were dancing around nearby, waiting. He ignored them, instead focusing on the girl. There were other imps right next to her, ones whose appearance screamed of illness and infection.

He sliced at them with Tenseiga, but as the blade approached them, something new appeared. He caught only a glimpse of it, of eyes eons old that spoke of secrets best untold, before Tenseiga collided with it and he was sent jarring back to normality.

His hand stung. He sheathed Tenseiga and stared at the burn on his palm, puzzled. Then he regarded the girl again, noting how her condition had not improved.

Something was amiss with her. Something he could not heal.

Rin, who had been watching, took a step toward him. "Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Sesshoumaru looked around, his eyes landing on his brother's wench returning at a run. He could tell by her expression that she had felt the force of his failure to heal the girl. Sighing inwardly, he knelt and lifted the cat demon into his arm.

"What happened? What's going on?" Kagome asked breathlessly.

He merely glanced at her. "It is time to leave this place," he replied simply. "Rin, Jaken, come."

He waited a moment for his retainer and ward to climb onto Ah-Un's back, then quickly formed his cloud and rose into the air, leaving the surprised priestess behind.

He left Rin and Jken to make camp, then removed himself from them, taking the cat demon with him. He was not sure if what he was about to do would be dangerous, and he did not wish to place his ward in harm's way.

Finding a safe place, he laid the girl on the grass, frowning when his hand came away smeared with her blood. She was bleeding through her bandages, a bad sign. He drew Tenseiga and let it take him to that world between worlds.

He had more than his unexplained concern for the girl to urge him on and fuel his determination: there was someone more powerful than he. . . someone who needed to explain themselves.

He swung Tenseiga over the girl's form, at the imps that had multiplied around her, but he did so more slowly this time. Once again, the ancient being appeared, but this time, he stayed his hand before his blade made contact.

Squat and grey, like an old man bent over with age, yet somehow defying form. No, it was more than that. It defied senses. Sesshoumaru found that he could not bring his eyes to focus on this mysterious being. All he could see clearly were those eyes.

They held each other's gaze for what seemed eternity. Sesshoumaru found he could not move, and instinctually fought against the force that was binding him.

_It __is __useless __to __resist._

He felt the voice reverberating around him instead of hearing it.

_She __is __needed._

He tried to find his voice to demand an explanation, but found even speech was beyond him.

_Do __not __attempt __to __interfere __again._

He pushed harder against the force binding him and managed to free his voice. "She will die."

_She __will __live._

"You see the messengers of the underworld. If you have the power to save her, do so. If not, stand aside."

_She __will __live._

Before he could utter another sound, the strange being began to glow, and the scent of hellfire wafted from it, quickly enveloping him. Tenseiga pulsed, once, twice, then sent Sesshoumaru jolting back to his own plane. He stumbled backwards a step, eyes on the place where the being had stood between him and the cat demon.

Said demon cried out in pain. Her eyes fluttered open, then closed again as she writhed in pain. Sesshoumaru quickly sheathed Tenseiga and knelt by her side.

"Onii-sama. . ." she whispered weakly. "Run. Please. . . get away. . . from. . . me."

He frowned, but did not move. She pleaded with him some more, but he refused to budge. Then, without warning, she screamed in agony. At the same moment, he felt something within him twinge painfully, and Tenseiga burst to life, surrounding him in its demonic energy.

The cat demon took a deep, ragged breath, and shouted, "No! Leave Onii-sama alone! Leave him alone!"

Sesshoumaru did not know what happened after that. There was a blinding flash of something that wasn't light, a feeling as if the ground had been wrenched from under him, and the sensation of reality crashing into him with more force than necessary. Then all was still. Tenseiga released its barrier, the forest was quiet, and the cat demon lay still on the ground in front of him.

He frowned.

She was not breathing.

His hand was on Tenseiga's hilt before the thought could cross his mind.

He caught a sudden flash of ancient eyes, and the breeze carried an unearthly voice to his ears.

_As __you __wish._

The girl gasped for air, whimpered, and was still. But she was alive.

He lowered himself to the ground and sat by her side, taking a moment to compose himself.

**Author's Note: This is the end of what I already have written. Can't promise I'll write more anytime soon, since I've got a senior thesis to flail at, but I'll try. **


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